Automatic soldering system

Abstract

To secure connection strength of a wire, to improve connection quality, to resolve poor connection (contact failure), and to downsize and reduce cost without decreasing production efficiency.SOLUTION: An automatic soldering system includes: robot mechanisms 2 having rotary shafts Rc capable of rotary control; an off-set detection function part Fd detecting off-set amounts Od at end positions Ws of wires Wa with respect to central axis lines Lc in a surface direction Ds of connection surfaces Jf seen from a surface right-angled direction Dj with respect to the connection surfaces Jf of connected parts Aj; and an arithmetic processing function part Fp obtaining corrected rotational angles Qc of the rotary shafts Rc at which end positions Ws of the wires Wa match the rotary shafts Rc seen from the surface right-angled direction Dj on the basis of the detection result of the off-set detection function part Fd.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic soldering system suitable for use when automatically soldering a wire to a connection portion of a workpiece.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, when connecting a wire such as a lead wire or a wire harness to a connection portion of a workpiece such as an electronic component, it is often connected by soldering. For this reason, various automatic soldering devices that automatically perform soldering have been proposed.

[0003] Conventionally, as this type of automatic soldering device, an automatic coated wire mounting device disclosed in Patent Document 1 and an automatic soldering device disclosed in Patent Document 2 are known. The automatic coated wire mounting device of the same document 1 is configured to be able to automatically perform processing from the raw wire of a wire such as a coated wire, and wiring and connection fixing to switch terminals, terminal terminals, etc. Specifically, a rotary table is arranged on the main body table, and a component alignment device, a component supply device, a component terminal correction device, a plurality of coated wire processing supply devices, a bending device, a coated wire holding reel, a soldering device, and a finished product taking-out device are arranged around the rotary table. A plurality of component fixing jigs are arranged on the rotary table, and the rotary table is intermittently operated by a motor or the like to sequentially transfer the components, and each device performs respective operations on the components, thereby automatically performing a series of operations of sizing and cutting a plurality of types of coated wires for the components, sizing stripping of the coating, supply to the components, bending of the wires, and connection of the components and the wires by soldering.

[0004] In addition, the automatic soldering device of Patent Document 2 is used for soldering electrical components or the like. Specifically, it includes a solder feeding device installed on a substrate, a sliding member slidably provided on a support base integrated with the substrate, a solder delivery pipe loosely fitted to the sliding member via a spring, a linear solder passed through the solder delivery pipe and connected to the solder feeding device via a flexible pipe, a work holding body having a pair of cam portions slidably provided by a pair of guide rods on the substrate, and a pair of movable electrodes provided orthogonally across the work holding body on the substrate and capable of making contact and separation with the respective cam portions.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, the above-described conventional automatic soldering device (automatic coated wire mounting device, automatic soldering device) had the following problems.

[0007] That is, when soldering a flexible lead wire as a wire, bending (curving) is likely to occur in the lead wire to be connected. When bending occurs, the position of the conductor portion, which is the tip of the lead wire, is displaced with respect to the connection portion of the work, and as a result, variations during connection are likely to occur. Therefore, there is a risk of causing a decrease in the connection strength at the connection portion, and there are difficulties such as variations in the lead-out position and lead-out direction of the wire, which easily lead to a decrease in connection quality and connection failures (contact failures).

[0008] On the other hand, although there is a method of correcting the curvature of the lead wire before soldering by a correcting means, since the covering portion has elasticity, it is not easy to correct it sufficiently. Moreover, the correction takes a certain amount of necessary time and, since it is mechanically configured, there has been a problem of increasing the size and cost of the soldering mechanism.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic soldering system 1 that solves the problems existing in such background art.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The automatic soldering system 1 according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problems, when configuring a system for automatically soldering wire materials Wa... to the connection parts Aj... of the workpiece A, includes a robot mechanism 2... having a rotatable rotation axis Rc, and an offset detection function unit Fd that detects an offset amount Od... at the tip position Ws... of the wire material Wa... with respect to the central axis Lc in the plane direction Ds of the connection surface Jf... when viewed from the plane perpendicular direction Dj with respect to the connection surface Jf... of the connection part Aj..., and based on the detection result of this offset detection function unit Fd, a calculation processing function unit Fp that obtains a correction rotation angle Qc... of the rotation axis Rc in which the tip position Ws... of the wire material Wa... coincides with the central axis Lc when viewed from the plane perpendicular direction Dj, and a control output function unit Fe that outputs a rotation angle control amount corresponding to the correction rotation angle Qc... It is characterized by including a system controller Cs.

[0011] In this case, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the robotic mechanism 2... can be provided with at least a hand part 2h... that grips the wire Wa... such that the central axis Lc of the wire Wa... coincides with the rotation axis Rc. Further, the wire Wa... can include at least a lead wire (Wa...) having a conductor part Wm... exposed by removing a covering part Wt... at least at a part of the tip. On the other hand, the offset detection functional part Fd can be provided with an image processing functional part Fdv that detects the offset amount Od by performing image processing on the image data obtained by photographing with the camera 5. Also, all of the wires Wa... required for the workpiece A... can be collectively set in the clamper 6, and this clamper 6 can be collectively photographed by the camera 5. Further, when rotating the rotation axis Rc, it is desirable for the control output functional part Fe to output a control signal that rotates the rotation axis Rc in the approaching direction Di with respect to the connection part Aj... of the workpiece A... around the tip position Ws... of the wire Wa.... Furthermore, the hand part 2h... can be provided with a correction processing mechanism part Fs that corrects the offset amount Od... of the wire Wa... by directly applying an external force to the wire Wa... with a corrector 7.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the automatic soldering system 1 according to the present invention having such a configuration, the following remarkable effects can be achieved.

[0013] (1) Even when the wire Wa... such as a flexible lead wire is in a curved or bent state, it is possible to effectively avoid the deviation of the tip position Ws... of the wire Wa... with respect to the connection part Aj... of the workpiece A.... As a result, it is possible to improve the connection quality and eliminate connection failures (contact failures), such as ensuring the connection strength at the soldering part and reducing manufacturing variations. Furthermore, it is possible to equalize the lead-out position and lead-out direction of the wire Wa... with respect to the workpiece A....

[0014] (2) Since the correction process can be performed within the cycle time for transferring the wire Wa… to the next process, it is not necessary to provide a separate correction process step, and the production efficiency can be increased. In addition, since the functions of the sixth axis of the robot mechanism 2… can be used as they are, it is sufficient to provide a hand part 2h… for gripping the wire Wa… on the robot mechanism 2…, which can contribute to the miniaturization and cost reduction of the system.

[0015] (3) In a preferred embodiment, if at least a hand part 2h… for gripping the wire Wa… is provided on the robot mechanism 2… such that the central axis Lc of the wire Wa… is on the same axis as the rotation axis Rc, the offset amount Od… can be corrected quickly and accurately only by rotationally controlling the hand part 2h… by the correction rotation angle Qc….

[0016] (4) In a preferred embodiment, if the wire Wa… includes at least a lead wire (Wa…) having a coated part Wt… removed from at least a part of the tip and an exposed conductor part Wm…, it can be applied to the lead wire (Wa…) that includes the problems of the present invention, and thus can be implemented as an optimal form from the viewpoint of ensuring performance.

[0017] (5) In a preferred embodiment, if an image processing function unit Fdv for detecting the offset amount Od… by image processing on the image data obtained by photographing with the camera 5 is provided in the offset detection function unit Fd, the two-dimensional detection of the offset amount Od… can be performed more easily and reliably, and even when the curved state is complicated, it can be detected in advance as a defect of the wire Wa…, and necessary abnormality occurrence processing and the like can be performed.

[0018] (6) In a preferred embodiment, if all the wire materials Wa... required for the workpiece A... are collectively set in the clamper 6 and the clamper 6 is collectively photographed by the camera 5 in the offset detection functional unit Fd, the offset amounts Od... for a plurality of wire materials Wa... can be detected at once, and each detection data can be distributed and used. Therefore, the processing efficiency can be improved, and since the detection data related to all the wire materials Wa... used for one workpiece A can be collectively used, the variation between the data can be minimized.

[0019] (7) In a preferred embodiment, if the control output functional unit Fe is provided with a function of outputting a control signal for rotating the rotary shaft Rc in the approaching direction Di with respect to the connected part Aj... when rotating the rotary shaft Rc, the inclined lifting of the wire material Wa... can be suppressed, so that a more suitable soldering process can be performed, such as effectively bringing the wire material Wa... into close contact (linear contact) with the connected part Aj....

[0020] (8) In a preferred embodiment, if a correction processing mechanism unit Fs for correcting the offset amount Od... of the wire material Wa... by directly applying an external force to the wire material Wa... by the corrector 7 is provided in the hand part 2h..., in addition to the main effect of the automatic soldering system 1 according to the present invention, a function of correcting the bending and kinking of the wire material Wa... before the soldering process can be added, so that the connection quality can be further improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0022] Next, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be given and described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0023] First, the overall configuration of the automatic soldering system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (FIGS. 4 - 11). Incidentally, as the work A in the illustrated automatic soldering system 1, an intermediate assembly M of a sensor module is shown. As shown in FIG. 9, this intermediate assembly M includes four connection parts (connection terminals) Aj... on a printed circuit board Mp. Further, the wires (Wa...) to be soldered to the connection parts Aj... are lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, Wd. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lead wires Wa... have a form in which a covering part Wt... at a part of the tip is removed and a part of the conductor part Wm... on the tip side is exposed. Therefore, the tip of the conductor part Wm... becomes the tip position Ws... of the lead wire Wa.... In this way, if the wires (Wa...) include at least lead wires Wa, Wb... having a covering part Wt... at a part of the tip removed and an exposed conductor part Wm..., it can be applied to the lead wires Wa... that include the problems of the present invention, and thus it can be implemented as an optimal form from the viewpoint of ensuring performance.

[0024] Next, the overall configuration of the mechanical system of the automatic soldering system 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, in the automatic soldering system 1, a work soldering line 11 is installed in the center. This work soldering line 11 sequentially passes through four soldering processing units 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d from the upstream side. That is, the work soldering line 11 has a function of sequentially conveying a pallet 14 on which a work A is set, and has a function of sequentially conveying each work A set on each pallet 14 while stopping each work A at each soldering processing unit 11a, 11b... for a certain period of time.

[0025] Also, on the left side in the conveying direction Dm of the work soldering line 11, four soldering units 12, 12, 12, 12 corresponding to each soldering processing unit 11a, 11b... are sequentially arranged. As shown in FIG. 8, one soldering unit 12 includes a soldering head part 21 having a soldering iron part 22 and a solder supply part 23. This soldering head part 21 can be moved in the XYZ directions by a robot mechanism part (not shown). In FIG. 8, 24 indicates a positioning camera that photographs the vicinity of the tip of the soldering iron part 22.

[0026] On the right side of the transfer direction Dm of the work soldering line 11, four robot mechanisms 2, 2, 2, 2 corresponding to the respective soldering processing units 11a, 11b... are sequentially arranged. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, one robot mechanism 2 is a six-axis industrial robot, and at its tip, it is provided with a hand part 2h attached to the rotational output part 25 of the sixth axis. This rotational output part 25 serves as a rotation axis Rc that can be rotationally controlled. The hand part 2h is provided with a correction processing mechanism part Fs having a chuck part 26 and a corrector 7. The chuck part 26 has a function of gripping the lead wire Wa (Wb...), and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when gripping the lead wire Wa, the central axis Lc of the lead wire Wa is configured to be on the same axis as the rotation axis Rc. With such a configuration, by only rotationally controlling the hand part 2h by the correction rotation angle Qc, the offset amount Od can be quickly and accurately corrected. When the central axis Lc and the rotation axis Rc are not on the same axis, it is possible to control the other drive axes of the robot mechanism 2 so that the central axis Lc and the rotation axis Rc are positioned on the same axis.

[0027] In the correction processing mechanism part Fs illustrated in FIGS. 6-8, the corrector 7 is slidably attached to the outer peripheral surface of the lead wire Wa, and by repeatedly moving it along the central axis Lc, it has a function of correcting the bending (offset) of the lead wire Wa. That is, it has a function of directly applying an external force to the lead wire Wa and correcting the offset amount Od described later. The correction processing mechanism part Fs is an optional function. FIGS. 10 and 11 show a configuration in which the correction processing mechanism part Fs is not provided, that is, a modified example in which the configuration of the correction processing mechanism part Fs is removed from the configuration shown in FIGS. 6-8. Therefore, in FIGS. 10 and 11, the same parts as those in FIGS. 6-8 are given the same reference numerals to clarify the configuration, and the detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0028] Thus, whether to provide the correction processing mechanism part Fs is optional. However, when the correction processing mechanism part Fs is provided, in addition to the main effects of the automatic soldering system 1 according to the present invention, a function of correcting the bending and kinking of the lead wire Wa before the soldering process can be added, so that the connection quality can be further improved.

[0029] Further, on the right side of the robot mechanisms 2, 2, 2..., a lead wire conveyance line 15 for synchronously conveying the lead wires Wa... clamped by the clamper 6 to the above-described work A... (pallet 14...) is disposed. The clamper 6 has a function of clamping four lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, Wd of different colors used for one work A. The illustrated clamper 6 is formed with four U-shaped slits 6s, 6s... from the upper surface of the block body 6m as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, a lead wire stocker 16 for stocking a large number of lead wires Wa..., Wb..., Wc..., Wd... is disposed in the vicinity of the lead wire conveyance line 15.

[0030] In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, a work loading section 17 is disposed on the upstream side with respect to the work soldering line 11, and a work introduction section 17s for standby of the work A conveyed by this work loading section 17 is provided. Further, a lead wire transfer robot (not shown) is installed in the vicinity of the work introduction section 17s, and a clamper standby section Xp is provided on the upstream side of the lead wire conveyance line 15. The lead wires Wa, Wb... stocked in the lead wire stocker 16 can be sequentially transferred to the clamper 6 set in this standby section Xp by the lead wire transfer robot. On the other hand, on the downstream side with respect to the work soldering line 11, a work unloading section 18 for unloading the work A for which the soldering process has been completed from the work soldering line 11 is provided. 2p indicates a work extraction robot for extracting the work A for which the soldering process has been completed. Also, in front of the tip position Ws... of the lead wire Wa... of the clamper 6 set in the standby section Xp, a correction camera 5 is installed as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5.

[0031] Next, the overall system configuration including the control system and the drive system in the automatic soldering system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0032] In FIG. 1, Cs represents a system controller. The system controller Cs includes a system controller main body 31, and a display 31d having a touch panel 31t is attached to the system controller main body 31. Further, in relation to the present invention, the positioning camera 24 and the correction camera 5 described above are connected to the system controller main body 31 via interfaces 32 and 33, respectively. On the other hand, the system controller main body 31 is connected to a robot mechanism 2 including a hand part 2h and various actuator groups 2o that drive each robot axis in the soldering process part 11a via an interface 34. Although the soldering process part 11a has been described, the other soldering process parts 11b, 11c, and 11d are also connected in the same manner as the soldering process part 11a. Further, each soldering unit 12... is connected via interfaces 35.... In addition, the drive mechanisms (not shown) of the work take-out robot 2p, the lead wire transfer robot (not shown), the work soldering line 11, the lead wire conveyance line 15, the work loading part 17, and the work unloading part 18 are also connected to the system controller main body 31 via necessary interfaces.

[0033] Also, the system controller Cs has a computer function including a CPU and an internal memory 36, etc. The internal memory 36m has a program area 36mp for storing a comprehensive control program (software) for executing various arithmetic processes and various control processes (sequence control), and includes a data area 36md into which various data (databases) can be written.

[0034] And in the program area 36mp, a soldering sequence program Cpf for operating the automatic soldering system 1 according to the present invention is stored, and each functional unit is executed. Specifically, as the main functional units, an offset detection functional unit Fd, an image processing functional unit Fdv, an arithmetic processing functional unit Fp, a control output functional unit Fe, a correction processing functional unit Fs, and a positioning control functional unit Fc are included. In this case, the offset detection functional unit Fd has a function of detecting an offset amount Od... at the tip position Ws... of the lead wire Wa... with respect to the central axis line Lc in the plane direction Ds of the connection surface Jf... when viewed from the plane perpendicular direction Dj to the connection surface Jf... of the connected part Aj.... The offset detection functional unit Fd includes an image processing functional unit Fdv that detects the offset amount Od by performing image processing on the image data obtained by photographing with the camera 5. Further, the arithmetic processing functional unit Fp has a function of obtaining a corrected rotation angle Qc... of the rotation axis Rc such that the tip position Ws... of the lead wire Wa... coincides with the rotation axis Rc when viewed from the plane perpendicular direction Dj, based on the detection result of the offset detection functional unit Fd. Furthermore, the control output functional unit Fe has a function of outputting a rotation angle control amount corresponding to the corrected rotation angle Qc. On the other hand, as described above, the correction processing mechanism unit Fs has a function of driving and controlling the corrector 7 provided in the hand part 2h... and directly applying an external force to the lead wire Wa... to correct the offset amount Od... of the lead wire Wa....

[0035] Next, the operation of the automatic soldering system 1 according to the present embodiment, that is, the soldering method, will be described with reference to each drawing according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3.

[0036] First, in FIG. 2, the work A (intermediate assembly M) carried in by the work loading unit 17 is set on the pallet 14 in the work introduction unit 17s in the standby position (step S1). Also, by a lead wire transfer robot (not shown), the first lead wire Wa of a different color from the lead wire stocker 16 is set (transferred) to the corresponding U-shaped slit 6s of the clamper 6 located at the clamper standby part Xp in the lead wire conveyance line 15 (step S2). Such transfer processing is similarly performed for the remaining three (generally N) lead wires Wb, Wc, and Wd (step S3). The state where the transfer is completed is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0037] When the transfer is completed, based on the execution of the offset detection function unit Fd, the entire lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd in this state are photographed by the correction camera 5 (step S4). The images of the tips Ws... of the lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd, which are the subjects seen from the correction camera 5, are as shown in FIG. 5. In the illustrated case, it shows a state where the two lead wires Wa and Wc are curved. In FIG. 5, Dj is perpendicular to the connection surface Jf of the connection part Aj of the work A, and Do... indicates the directions of the central axes Lc... of the curved lead wires Wa and Wc. In this way, if all the necessary lead wires Wa... for the work A... are collectively set in the clamper 6 and this clamper 6 is photographed all at once by the camera 5, the offset amounts Od... for a plurality of lead wires Wa... described later can be detected at once, and each detection data can be distributed and used. Therefore, the processing efficiency can be improved, and since the detection data related to all the lead wires Wa... used for one work A can be used collectively, the variation between the data can be minimized. Then, when the photographing by the correction camera 5 is completed, the clamper 6 is transferred by the lead wire conveyance line 15 to the soldering processing unit 11a that performs soldering on the first lead wire Wa in the next process (step S5).

[0038] On the one hand, the image data (detection data) captured by the correction camera 5 is provided to the system controller main body 31. As a result, in the image processing functional unit Fdv in the system controller Cs, the offset amount Od... is detected by image processing. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when viewed from the surface perpendicular direction Dj with respect to the connection surface Jf... of the connected part Aj..., the detection process of the offset amount Od... at the tip position Ws... of each lead wire Wa... with respect to the central axis Lc in the surface direction Ds of the connection surface Jf... is performed (step S6).

[0039] In this way, if the offset detection functional unit Fd is provided with the image processing functional unit Fdv that detects the offset amount Od... by image processing on the image data obtained by shooting with the camera 5, the two-dimensional detection of the offset amount Od... can be performed more easily and reliably. Also, even when the curved state is complex, defects such as those in the lead wire Wa... can be detected in advance, and necessary abnormal occurrence processing and the like can be performed. In this case, two-dimensional detection means detecting the bending direction of the lead wire Wa... by the XY axis or at an angle of 360°. Therefore, even when the apparent offset amount Od... is "0", there are cases of the original "0°" and "180°" where the correction rotation angle Qc described later is unnecessary. When "180°" is detected, the correction rotation angle Qc can be set to 180° for correction processing.

[0040] Next, the arithmetic processing function unit Fp obtains the corrected rotation angle Qc... That is, based on the detection result of the offset detection function unit Fd, the arithmetic processing calculates the corrected rotation angle Qc of the rotation axis Rc for aligning the tip position Ws... of the lead wire Wa... with the rotation axis Rc as viewed from the plane right angle direction Dj (step S7). Specifically, the bending direction is recognized by the correction camera 5 using XY coordinates, and the coordinates are arithmetically processed to obtain the corrected rotation angle Qc... At this time, in the lead wire Wd shown in FIG. 5, since there are upward rotational movements due to left rotation and downward rotational movements due to right rotation, when the control output function unit Fe rotates the rotation axis Rc, it outputs a control signal for rotating the rotation axis Rc in the approaching direction Di with respect to the tip position Ws... of the lead wire Wa... toward the connected part Aj... As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the inclined lift of the lead wire Wa... can be suppressed, so that a more suitable soldering process can be performed, such as effectively bringing it into close contact (line contact) with the connected part Aj...

[0041] Then, the data related to the obtained corrected rotation angle Qc... is immediately transferred to the corresponding robot mechanisms 2, 2... Therefore, each process in these system controllers Cs, that is, each process of the offset detection function unit Fd, the arithmetic processing function unit Fp, and the control output function unit Fe, is executed within the cycle in which the clamper 6 is transferred to the soldering processing unit 11a.

[0042] On the other hand, when the clamper 6 is transferred to the soldering processing unit 11a, the first lead wire Wa is gripped by the hand part 2h by the robot mechanism 2 in the soldering processing unit 11a. This state is shown in FIG. 6. In this state, the intermediate position of the lead wire Wa is gripped and fixed by the chuck part 26, and the corrector 7 constituting the correction processing mechanism part Fs is slidably mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the lead wire Wa (step S8). Further, the lead wire Wa gripped by the robot mechanism 2 is immediately transferred to the corresponding position on the work A, that is, the facing position with respect to the connected part Aj (see FIG. 8) (step S9).

[0043] At this time, as described above, the robot mechanism 2 has already had a control signal for correcting the offset amount Od... transferred to it, that is, command data for correcting (canceling) the offset amount Od... by rotationally controlling the rotational output unit 25 by the correction rotation angle Qc.... Therefore, the lead wire Wa has correction processing performed within the tact time when it is transferred to the connection part Aj (step S10). FIG. 6 is a plan view of the robot mechanism 2, and the lead wire Wa has the same positional relationship as in FIG. 4, showing a state where the tip position Ws side of the lead wire Wa requires the correction rotation angle Qc....

[0044] Therefore, in the robot mechanism 2, the rotational output unit 25 is rotationally controlled, and as shown in FIG. 7, the angle correction is performed by rotating the tip position Ws of the lead wire Wa by the correction rotation angle Qc so that it coincides with the rotation axis Rc when viewed from the plane right angle direction Dj. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the actual rotation angle rotates the rotation axis Rc in the approaching direction Di with respect to the connection part Aj at the tip position Ws....

[0045] FIG. 7 shows the state of the corrected lead wire Wa viewed from the plane direction. Also, if the angle correction (direction correction) is completed, if necessary, a correction process for reducing the offset amount Od may be performed by using the correction processing mechanism unit Fs to directly apply an external force to the lead wire Wa (step S11). In this correction process, the corrector 7 of the correction processing mechanism unit Fs is slidably mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the lead wire Wa, and by repeatedly moving it along the central axis Lc, the curvature (offset) of the lead wire Wa can be corrected....

[0046] Then, when the above processing is completed, that is, when the lead wire Wa is transferred to the facing position of the connection target portion Aj, as shown in FIG. 7, the vicinity of the tip position Ws of the lead wire Wa is photographed by the positioning camera 24 (step S12). As a result, the image data (detection data) of the positioning camera 24 is provided to the system controller main body 31. Therefore, the actuator group 2o of the robot mechanism 2 is driven and controlled by the positioning control function unit Fc in the system controller Cs, and positioning processing is performed by feedback control with respect to the position of the lead wire Wa (step S13). As a result, if the tip position Ws of the lead wire Wa has reached a fixed position with respect to the connection target portion Aj, the soldering unit 12 is actuated and controlled to perform soldering processing (steps S14, S15).

[0047] As described above, since the soldering process for the first lead wire Wa with respect to the workpiece A is completed, the lead wire conveyance line 15 is driven and controlled, so that the clamper 6 from which the lead wire Wa has been removed is transferred to the next soldering process section 11b, and the workpiece soldering line 11 is driven and controlled, so that the workpiece A soldered with the lead wire Wa is transferred to the next soldering process section 11b (step S17). Also in the soldering process section 11b, basically the same processing as that of the soldering process section 11a described above is performed (steps S8 - S16). However, in the case of the example, since correction of the curvature for the lead wire Wb is not required, the correction process and the correction process in steps S10 and S11 are not performed.

[0048] Furthermore, in the soldering process section 11c, the same processing as that of the soldering process section 11a described above is performed, and in the soldering process section 11d, the same processing as that of the soldering process section 11b described above is performed. As a result, when the soldering process by the soldering process section 11d is completed, the soldering processes for the four (generally N) lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd are all completed (step S16).

[0049] As described above, the automatic soldering system 1 according to this embodiment, in its basic form, has a rotatable rotation axis Rc, and thus includes at least a robot mechanism 2 having a hand portion 2h that grips the lead wire Wa such that the central axis Lc of the lead wire Wa coincides with the rotation axis Rc. When viewed from the surface perpendicular direction Dj with respect to the connection surface Jf of the connection portion Aj, an offset detection functional unit Fd that detects the offset amount Od at the tip position Ws of the lead wire Wa with respect to the central axis Lc in the surface direction Ds of the connection surface Jf. Based on the detection result of the offset detection functional unit Fd, an arithmetic processing functional unit Fp that obtains the corrected rotation angle Qc of the rotation axis Rc such that the tip position Ws of the lead wire Wa coincides with the rotation axis Rc when viewed from the surface perpendicular direction Dj, and a control output functional unit Fe that outputs a rotation angle control amount corresponding to the corrected rotation angle Qc. Therefore, even when the lead wire Wa, such as a flexible lead wire, is curved or bent, the deviation of the tip position Ws of the lead wire Wa with respect to the connection portion Aj of the workpiece A can be effectively avoided. As a result, it is possible to improve the connection quality and eliminate connection failures (contact failures), such as ensuring the connection strength at the soldering portion and reducing manufacturing variations. Furthermore, the lead-out position and lead-out direction of the lead wire Wa with respect to the workpiece A can be made uniform.

[0050] Moreover, since the correction process can be performed within the cycle time for transferring the lead wire Wa to the next process, it is not necessary to provide a separate correction process step, and the production efficiency can be increased. In addition, since the axis function of the sixth axis constituting the robot mechanism 2 can be used as it is, it is sufficient to provide a hand portion 2h that grips the lead wire Wa in the robot mechanism 2, which can contribute to the miniaturization and cost reduction of the system.

[0051] As described above, the preferred embodiments including the modification examples have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and can be arbitrarily changed, added, or deleted within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention in terms of the detailed configuration, shape, material, quantity, numerical value, etc.

[0052] For example, although a lead wire Wa was exemplified as the wire material (Wa), the wire material (Wa) includes various electrical system wire materials with different names such as wire harnesses, cables, and electric wires, and can also be applied to wire materials in mechanical systems and other fields if necessary. Also, the robot mechanism 2... can be replaced with mechanical elements having the same function and does not necessarily mean a general robot. Similarly, soldering only needs to have the function of welding (connecting) the wire material (Wa...) and the connected part Aj..., and does not necessarily mean general soldering. The offset detection function unit Fd and the image processing function unit Fdv were shown as being executed by the system controller Cs having a computer function, but they may also be made to function by a combination of other electronic circuits. On the other hand, although an example was shown in which all the wire materials (Wa...) required for the workpiece A... are collectively set by the clamper 6 and photographed collectively by the camera 5, the case of photographing the wire materials (Wa...) one by one is not excluded. As the control output function unit Fe, when rotating the rotating shaft Rc..., it is desirable to rotate the rotating shaft Rc... in the approaching direction Di in which the tip position Ws... approaches the connected part Aj..., but the case of rotating in the opposite direction of separation is not excluded. Also, although an example was shown in which the hand part 2h... is provided with a correction processing mechanism unit Fs for directly applying an external force to the wire material Wa... to correct the offset amount Od..., it may not be provided as described above, or the case of correcting by other methods is not excluded.

Industrial Applicability

[0053] The automatic soldering system according to the present invention can be used when automatically soldering various wire materials such as lead wires and wire harnesses to the connected parts of various workpieces in the manufacturing processes of electronic components, electronic devices, and the like.

Explanation of Signs

[0054] 1: Automatic soldering system, 2…: Robot mechanism, 2h…: Hand part, 5: Camera, 6: Clamper, A: Workpiece, Aj…: Connected part of workpiece, Jf: Connection surface, Wa…: Wire (lead wire), Ws…: Tip position, Wt…: Coated part, Wm…: Conductor part, Rc: Rotation axis, Lc: Central axis, Dj: Direction perpendicular to surface, Ds: Surface direction, Od…: Offset amount, Di: Approach direction, Fd: Offset detection function unit, Fdv: Image processing function unit, Fp: Arithmetic processing function unit, Fe: Control output function unit, Fs: Correction processing mechanism unit, Qc…: Correction rotation angle, Cs: System controller

Claims

1. In an automatic soldering system for automatically soldering a wire to a connection part of a workpiece, a robot mechanism having a rotatable rotation axis, and, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the connection surface of the connection part, an offset amount at the tip position of the wire with respect to the central axis of the wire in the plane direction of the connection surface is detected by an offset detection functional unit, and based on the detection result of this offset detection functional unit, a calculation processing functional unit for obtaining a corrected rotation angle of the rotation axis in which the tip position of the wire coincides with the central axis when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the plane, and a control output functional unit for outputting a rotation angle control amount corresponding to the corrected rotation angle. An automatic soldering system characterized by comprising a system controller.

2. The robot mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least a hand part for gripping the wire so that the central axis of the wire is on the same axis as the rotation axis.

3. The automatic soldering system according to claim 1, characterized in that the wire includes at least a lead wire having a coating part at the tip part removed and an exposed conductor part.

4. The automatic soldering system according to claim 1, characterized in that the offset detection functional unit comprises an image processing functional unit for detecting the offset amount by image processing of image data obtained by photographing with a camera.

5. The automatic soldering system according to claim 4, characterized in that the offset detection functional unit sets all of the wire required for the workpiece in a clamper at once, and the clamper is photographed collectively by the camera.

6. The automatic soldering system according to claim 1, characterized in that when rotating the rotation axis, the control output functional unit outputs a control signal for rotating the rotation axis in the approaching direction to the connection part at the tip position of the wire.

7. The automatic soldering system according to claim 2, characterized in that the hand part comprises a correction processing mechanism part for correcting the offset amount of the wire by directly applying an external force to the wire by a corrector.

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